MHCC Campus Crusade For Christ

Host Family?

2006-08-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

First post in awhile, but we are all really excited for getting things moving this fall! I wanted to let everyone know about a pretty exciting opportunity.

ARE YOU READY TO BE A PART OF THE GLOBAL VILLAGE?
If so, now is your opportunity to bring the world
to your home!

Mt. Hood Community College's (MHCC) CASS International Scholar Program is currently seeking people interested in hosting an international student. Please contact CASS staff to learn more about this exciting opportunity to open your heart, your mind, and your home to a future international leader visiting our community.

CASS (Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships) is a non-profit international development & education program based at Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education and Development. CASS students studying at MHCC receive training in Natural Resources Management. Our mission includes investing in young leaders from Central America and the Caribbean to help create a brighter future through positive social, economic, political, and environmental change on a major scale in these regions. Currently, MHCC is preparing to receive a group of 21 scholars from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic. CASS students come from humble families, and are awarded CASS scholarships based on their outstanding academic achievement and community leadership success after a rigorous and highly competitive selection process. Host families offer a ten-month commitment to host from August until May 2007, and receive a $265.00 per month stipend to help cover the scholar's room and board. CASS is currently seeking area host families who are able to provide a caring and supportive home environment to students as they adjust to our culture and embark on their education in the U.S.

For more information, please contact the CASS Program Staff at MHCC:

David Sussman Nikki Gillis
503-491-7287 503-491-7505
SussmanD@mhcc.edu GillisN@mhcc.edu

DK

End of the Year Awards

2006-06-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Campus Crusade for Christ at Mt. Hood Community College was recognized with two prestigious club awards. These awards are for everyone who has in any shape or form been involved with Campus Crusade. And don't think if you didn't go on the New Orleans Katrina Relief trip that you have no part in these awards. That single event was simply a demonstration of what the club stands for, this being the reaching out with love and kindness to all through the love that stems out of Jesus Christ ultimate love for us. Those who didn't go to New Orleans but have still been active in the club have made the clubs very existence, and everything that has been accomplished, possible.

Campus Crusade for Christ: Best Activity

Campus Crusade for Christ: Most Service Oriented

BBQ: June 17th

2006-06-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Mark is letting us throw an end of the (school)year celebration / Graduation (for those graduating) / New Orleans reunion party / BBQ potluck at his house Saturday evening, on June 17th. Everyone is welcome! You can start showing up at 5:00PM. The main meal is being provided but it is going to be potluck style. We are asking everyone to bring some type of dish/snack/drink/food to add to the feast.

If you need a ride, directions, or have any questions feel free to give me a ring (503-412-8943) at anytime. Hope to see a lot of you there and good luck with any finals that you might still have.

David Knepprath

P.S. Probably won't be having too many updates over the summer. Maybe we will put something up if we do some sort of get together, but you can look forward to an exciting year with a lot of cool stuff happening this fall! God Bless and ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

CASS Ecological Restoration Project

2006-06-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to throw a couple pictures on here from the CASS (Cooperative Association of States and Scholarship) volunteer project that we helped out with. We helped chop out blackberries away from new growth trees (which were then measured to track their growth) that have been planted by CASS over the course of the last 2-3 years. It was a good time and are hoping to continue working with them next school year.

Kristin Measuring Trees

Dan Franklin "Supervising"

Club Fair/Hike/Ecological Restoration Project

2006-05-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put up a quick update (last 3 weeks of classes are killer!). The club fair went...well. It got rained out so we were moved inside to the college center which doesn't generate quite as much traffic. We were still able to be represented on campus and put our name out there and let people know what we are all about. It also provided a lot of really good interaction with the other clubs on campus. So thanks to everyone who helped out! Couldn't have done it without you. We also got to hear some pretty good bands perform. Specifically Madison Blue (They are worth checking out, they have a very unique sound.) A few members in the band are Campus Crusade alumni from Montana State. We got a group out on another hike this last Monday. The skies cleared up just in time, and to think some people worried that we might have to do the hike rain or shine. (I'm glad I was wrong)

We headed across the stateline (into Washington) to Beacon Rock...

...swung by Char Burger...

...and finished off with a quick stop at the base of Bridal Veil Falls.

On a final note, you all should really try and make it this Saturday (June 3rd) at 8:45 (At MHCC by the flag poles) for the Ecological Restoration Project. We are going to be doing some work on campus with an organization called CASS (Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship). It is a group that does an exchange program with 8 Latin American countries. It is a very prestigious and hard program to get into and a really awesome group of about 35 individuals! We will be working until about 12:00. They are going to try and get a bunch of equipment donated by METRO for the day, but if you have a pair of big clippers/loppers and some leather work gloves, please bring them. Dress to work and bring a water bottle. Some good manual labor is a great way to relieve some stress so you can get ready for finals.

God Bless!

David Knepprath

Pure Bowling Joy

2006-05-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for coming out to the cosmic bowling! 34 people made it out for 2 1/2 hours of pure bowling joy.

Next week is the Rites of Spring Club Fair in the main courtyard. Feel free to swing by to hang out and help us man our table between 11:00 and 1:00 Monday - Thursday. We will be selling sno-cones and hopefully sharing with the rest of the campus a little bit of what we are all about. We will also be advertising for our next project, the "Ecological Restoration Project", which will be the Saturday morning of June 3rd.

It was a strike, if you were wondering.

Periwinkle

2006-05-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...Look at that fresh coat of Periwinkle. (A few of us are still sportin the color under our cuticles) Five of us were able to make it out last weekend to help out a woman who needed her house painted. Besides a few minor set backs (only a few cans of paint were spilled, only about half of us fell off of a ladder, some more graceful then others, and only one car battery died. It turns out a car can't play music for 6 hours strait running a 800 watt amp. Who knew?) Anyhow, we finished all but part of the awning before we ran out of paint, so if you want to help finish off the rest of the house just let us know. A few of us will be heading back over in the next couple weeks.

Hope to see a lot of you tomorrow night!...
What: Cosmic Bowling
When: Friday Night at 10:00-12:30
Where: Rose Bowl
Who: Everyone and their mother (So bring a friend)
Cost: $10

Questions? Need a ride? Call 503-412-8943.

If you want to start thinking ahead, Saturday June 3rd we are doing a "Ecological Restoration Project" at MHCC. It is 2 weeks before finals, so don't even try and use that as an excuse. Also, it would be awesome if you could work at least one shift for the spring club fair (aka. "Rites of Spring") into your schedule. It is Monday-Thursday in the main courtyard from 11:00-1:00. Feel free to stop by for however long, or little, you can on any, or all, of the days. It is a good opportunity to show Mt Hood that we have a presence on campus and what we are all about. We are going to be selling sno-cones too, so we need some extra hands.

DK

CastNet Seafood

2006-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

The following is a bit of New Orleans reminiscing by Sarah Speer:

I have just a small case of nostalgia after the trip to New Orleans. I remember the time SnowCloud's group ate at a small, hole-in-the wall place called CastNet Seafood after we had just gutted out a house and wrapped about a 1000 antique collectables. The savory aroma of pork roast and shrimp, crawfish po-boys lingers in my mind as I think about the tiny room where we placed our orders.

This particular restaurant seemed to take the concept of “fresh” to heart. For instance, Group SnowCloud waited patiently for food when a group of men came in. Hungry and looking like they had been working hard, they crowded around the counter to get their grub. All of a sudden, one of them let out a tremendous yelp. His companions burst out laughing, for what had startled him was crawfish positioned at the doorway. Evidently it had stretched out its claws to a bypassing leg. Whether done intentionally or not, the men all agreed that its aspiration in life was not to be thrown into a pot of boiling water.

Not only did we taste authentic, southern food, we also experienced authentic, southern friendliness. A great example was when Kevin noticed the staff at CastNet wearing a bright, red hat. He thought aloud, “Cool, I would love one.” The staff member then disappeared and brought back not one, not two or three, but three visors and three baseball caps with CastNet Seafood on them.

So Oregonians, if you're ever in New Orleans, I would highly recommend CastNet Seafood where you can receive friendly smiles, tasty food, and authentic, southern crawfish. Alive or in your po-boy.

------------

On a side note, if you haven't been coming to our Bible Study on Wednesday, this is what you have been missing out on...
Some good ol' Ultimate Frisbee!

Cosmic Bowling

2006-05-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

We have the details nailed down for Cosmic Bowling on May 19th. We are going to Rose Bowl, which turned out to be the cheapest, and It will be $10 per person (includes shoes) from 10pm-12:30am on Friday. We have reserved lanes but I ask that you please get back to me so we can make adjustments to the lane reservations as needed in advance, because we most likely will not be able to expand the reservation last minute. Feel free to bring friends and let me know if you have any questions.

DK

House Painting Party

2006-05-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

We have come across a great opportunity to help out in our community! Tiana Weaver is leaving for Lithuania pretty soon, but the lady she is living with has a lot of pretty serious back injuries. She is wanting to have her house painted and I was wondering if we could round up a couple willing hands to help her out. The plan is to have it done Saturday the 13th, and if we get enough volunteers we could probably have the project completed for her that day. So far only one person has stepped forward willing to help, and with that kind of turnout I don't foresee the house getting painted anytime soon. Any of you feel up to the challenge to help this woman out? Oh ya, I also heard something mentioned about FREE FOOD being lined up for lunch.

We have the tentative date of Friday the 19th planned for some good ol' cosmic bowling. Its looking like it will be about 10 bucks for 3 hours, but we will have more details soon. Not to overload you with to much good stuff at once, but we are also tentatively planning Saturday the 27th as an awesome action packed day with some pretty cool stuff going on as a "one last chance to hang out and relax before you have to start worrying about finals" event. Trust me on this one (weather permitting) you will want to keep your schedule open. Lets just say, "nature", "water", "food", "sunshine" (be praying for this one!) and "friends".

DK

GNC: Portland Part 2

2006-04-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Over 58,000 individuals committed their Saturday night on April 29th to trying to make a difference in the lives of thousands of young Ugandian children's lives. Letters were written to the President and peoples perspectives were changed. Only time will tell what the complete impact of these events will have on history.

Here are a couple more shots from the Global Night Commute in Portland Oregon.

DK

GNC: Portland Part 1

2006-04-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Global Night Commute is commencing as I type, but I just wanted to throw up some pictures of what's going on. We will have a post up from someone from our group who actually spent the night to explain what went on. While I was there the scene was deja vu (Not the movie with Val Kilmer) of kids piling into the basement of the hospital from the documentary on the Invisible Children. Pioneer Courthouse Square went from a scattering of sleeping bags to being lined with sleeping bags from side to side. The picture of Joe pretty much describes the mood of everyone downtown. The energy for the cause is amazing. It brought back memories of what it was like in New Orleans.

This is Pioneer Courthouse Square at roughly 7:30
And this is what it looked like within the next half hour.

People were stilling piling in when I left at 10:00.

And then here we are freezing our butts off... I respect everyone who is sticking it out and enduring the cold night. (Its dropping to about 38 degrees)

Pray that everyone's time and effort pays off! God Bless!

David Knepprath

Ultimate Frisbee!

2006-04-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

There is another Christian club on campus that we are trying to connect up with more for events that we do, its NCM (Northwest Collegiate Ministries). They helped us out with the Fiddler on the Roof fundraiser for the Katrina Relief trip. Apparently, they get together every Saturday to play ultimate frisbee. (Oh man does that bring back memories of grade school summer camp) Anyhow, I received an open invitation to join them if you are interested. These are the details:

"If you and/or anybody else from Crusade is interested, a bunch of us, (from NCM, and other friends and roommates, etc.), get together every Saturday between 3:00 and 3:30 to play ultimate frisbee. We play at the Portland Adventist Elem. School across from Centennial High School on 181st between Division and Powell. It's lots of fun!!"

Anyhow, I will probably head out there this weekend with a group of people from Crusade, so there will be a few familiar faces if your looking for a reason to get outside and enjoy the weather!

DK

Latourell Falls

2006-04-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

God truly has blessed Oregon with a beautiful landscape.

The Gorge looking out from the Vista House at Crown Point.

We had our first hike in the Gorge today, we figured we would start easy with Latourell Falls, which is just over 2 miles.

This is most of the group that was able to make it on such short notice (minus myself).

Some of the gang perusing the upper falls.

The lower falls.

Hopefully we will be having more hikes soon, and more of you will be able to join us! So if you are dyeing to get outside, we will have more hikes coming and there is always ultimate frisbee on Saturday afternoons! And stay tuned for an update from The Global Night Commute.

By God's Grace,

David Knepprath

Global Night Commute

2006-04-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

I know some of you were there for the movie night when we watched the documentary on The Invisible Children, but if not I encourage you to browse www.invisiblechildren.com and get an idea of what it is all about. Specifically this Saturday night there is something going on called the "Global Night Commute". Its an opportunity to get involved with the situation and help raise awareness. Here is a PDF with a ton of info with about what exactly will be going on there:

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/media/pdfs/GNC_details.pdf.

It looks like we have enough interest to get a small group together if you are interested in what I'm sure will come be known as a landmark event. Please contact Lindy Heath and she can bring you up to speed on the details for our group. You can contact her at be_happy59@hotmail.com. They do ask that you sign up, it is completely free though, they just want to keep track of how many people they have involved. The registration can be done here:

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMovement/globalNightCommute/.

You can be part of the 40,000 individuals already signed up across the U.S!

We will have pictures up from Pioneer Courthouse Square (Portland areas meet up location) early next week.

DK

Hike in the Gorge #1

2006-04-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Everyday that we have weather like this, I get more and more excited for this hike! We will try for our first one this Thursday (April 27th), but we also hope to have many more in the near future (and maybe try a couple different days to accommodate peoples schedules.). Personally, with weather like this, I wouldn't mind having a hike EVERY Thursday and Saturday.

We will be meeting up outside on the far end of campus by where we normally have Bible Study (Room 1609), so if you are willing to drive, try and think about parking in that area. While on on that subject, please get back to me as soon as possible if you are planning on going AND if you will be able to drive. We will carpool, but depending on how many people are going we need to plan drivers. We will plan on meeting around 12:30 and leaving no later then 1:00. We recommend that people bring something to drink like water and have some sort of snack or a sack lunch (We won't be taking a long break during the hike to stop and eat, so plan on eating before, on the way, or on the way back.) I would recommend to wear tennis shoes, not sandals, and bring a sweatshirt or wind breaker sort of jacket in case it is windy (look up the weather that morning, and try and plan accordingly, but as of today it is supposed to be a high of 76 with clear skies!!!). Sunglasses and a camera would be a good idea if you want to take pictures.

It will be a blast to get outside and actually enjoy the beautiful outdoors that Oregon has to offer which is almost impossible to enjoy 95% of the year, so I hope you all can fit it in to your schedule, bring a friend, if you want!

DK

What Is This Thing In The Sky!?

2006-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken no less then half an hour ago. I'm still trying to grasp just what exactly it is. I have a feeling by the time I can fully comprehend what it is, it will be gone.

If you would be interested in further exploring this odd phenomenon, we are going to be doing a hike in the gorge in the next week or two. Try and keep your Thursday or Saturday afternoons open!

We watched "The Invisible Children" last night, hopefully we will be able to get a group of us together to join in with the rest of the country on the "Global Night Commute" this coming Saturday. The Portland meetup will be in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and there are already 769 people committed. We will have more details about this soon.

DK

The Invisible Children

2006-04-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

We are having a movie night this Friday at 8:00 at Kristin's house. We will be watching a documentary on The Invisible Children along with another movie, hopefully to lighten the mood a bit.

"Look! Its Val Kilmer!" Cont.

2006-04-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

As a continuation of the previous posting, we were downtown at night and weren't able to snag any good shots of the filming, but I was able to get my hands on some of the Deja Vu production pics from another student, from George Fox University, who was in New Orleans helping out with relief work the same week as us.

As far as I know, these are the only Deja Vu production pics on the internet, trust me, I looked. Aren't you lucky? So enjoy!

This actually turned out to be a pretty interesting story, albeit completely random.

Stay tuned for the inside scoop on the filming of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (...I wish)

David Knepprath

"Look! Its Val Kilmer!"

2006-04-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

When we were in New Orleans we saw the cast and crew (not personally, but from a distance) for the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster, Deja Vu, starring James Caviezel, Val Kilmer, Denzel Washington, and music by Harry Gregson-Williams (Chronicles of Narnia).

The film features Denzel Washington as an ATF agent who falls in love with a complete stranger while racing against time to track down her killer. Jerry Bruckheimer has even worked Hurricane Katrina into the script by including lines of dialogue referencing the event and shots of debris and destruction left by the killer storm.

It is only in pre-production but I was able to scrounge up some information on it.

-The movie went through pre-production in New Orleans. Just weeks before production was to begin, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. With the location in ruins, the movie made the decision to find a new location to shoot. Weeks after the decision, canceling the movie altogether was in talks. Finally, three months after the hurricane, the film returned to New Orleans, Louisiana and began pre-production once again.
-New post-Katrina Louisiana legislation provided a 25% investors rebate for this film plus 10% employment credit for local hires (unless the salary exceeded one million dollars).

This explains why Denzel Washington has been out of the spotlight for so long. They were filming the "Ferry Scene" when we were there. Clay Steakley is listed as being a "Ferry Worker".

How's all of that for a tad bit of useless information? So when you see Deja Vu, remember, this movie helped jump start the post-Katrina New Orleans economy, and more importantly, WE WERE THERE!

David Knepprath

Happy Easter!

2006-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

On this Easter weekend, I cannot help but be reminded of the ultimate promise that was fulfilled confirming for each and everyone of us the hope of something greater then this earth. I cannot help but be forced back into thoughts of New Orleans, and all the grief and destruction. Our world is so torn by sin, and you can't help thinking that something just isn't right. Thank God for sending his only Son, Jesus, to live innocently to be OUR substitute in death, so that we can have hope for something greater then this scarred world.

I have finally received everyone's pictures from the New Orleans trip, all 3,000 of them, so now I get to start sifting through them to make the compilation of pictures. If you are interested in a copy, it will only be the cost of the disc, send me an email at David.Knepprath@gmail.com.

We are working on planning a couple events on campus this term. In the next couple weeks, weather permitting, we will have a hike in the Gorge at Lattoural Falls. We are also planning a movie get together, next month, for everyone to invite their friends to go see The Da Vinci Code and go out for coffee afterwards to discuss it. We are currently looking for any opportunities to do some type of service project, locally, so if you have any ideas let us know!

"Give thanks to Jesus Christ, our Lord, who brought the gift of salvation to all people by his death on the tree of the cross, so that the devil, who overcame us by a tree would in turn by a tree be overcome."

Happy Easter!

The Advocate

2006-04-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

We made the front page and center spread in a special color edition of the schools newspaper, The Advocate. If you weren't able to get a print copy you can check out the articles online here. (Thanks a ton Janice!)

Friday night most of the team got together for our 1 week reunion! It was good times. We hung out at Kevin's house and watched The 'Burbs, a classic Tom Hanks comedy.

Tomorrow night (April 9th) at 6:00pm we are getting the team together to help present at Good Shepherd Community Church's College Group, which is being centered around God's work in New Orleans.

God Bless

DK

A Beautiful Masterpiece!

2006-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

The Body of Christ: A Beautiful Masterpiece!
Jenae Kennington

I am blown away that we get to see God's image through his people! What really impressed me in our group was the uniqueness of each individual (diversity abounding) and yet the unity that comes from knowing Him. 1 Corinthians talks a lot about the necessity of each body part, this was obvious to me in New Orleans on the work sites as well and just hanging out together in the evenings. As believers we are called to suffer together and rejoice together (1 Cor. 12:26). We were able to mildly suffer together (enduring icy cold showers), and also share in the joy of a completed work project or in celebrating Lauren's birthday in the French Quarter and most importantly, being able to show the Love of Jesus through helping out the residents of New Orleans.

How amazing is it that we are all blessed with different personalities, senses of humor, quirks that can be appreciated, our God is so creative! He calls us to care for EACH member of the body. Thanks friends, for how you did that in NOLA!

Brendan: hands-a little too tenacious with a hammer!

Dan: eyebrow-good for accusations in Mafia and for generating enthusiasm

Daryle: elbow-encouraging nudge or joking manner

David H: neck- frosty for whaaaa?

David K: blood-vital to the life of the trip and an addict of this new type of UNO

Ian: brain-vibrant imagination; analytical thinker

Janice: eyes- lens through which we'll always get to picture NOLA

Jared: vocal chords-no explanation needed. ;)

Joe: tendon-dynamic duo with Josiah of flexibility in helping two teams

Josiah: ligament-ever flexible, capable of many midnight carpools to the airport

Kevin: feet-livin true to Psalm 150, praise Him with dancing!

Kristal: ring finger-Betty's prized possession uncovered

Kristen: dimples-simply adorable

Lauren: ears-good listener; watch out for flying ear plugs!

Lindy: voice box-beautiful singing voice and contagious laugh

Mark: knees-supportive; doesn't buckle under stress/adversity

Matt: legs-endurance, encouraging others with discipline of daily devotions

Miranda: lungs-breath of fresh air; especially her cow stories

Molly: smile-sweetness radiates from her

Nick: soul-IÂd be scared to face him on the line of scrimmage next yr. @ WO!

Rachael: biceps-she could've gutted a house single-handedly!

Rebecka: heart-sensitive to NOLA residents

Reed: nose-apparently he could bring the (ware)house down with his snoring!

Rob: ribs-finger lickin' good fun

Sarah: funny bone-anything w/ her after midnight always turns into a party

Snowcloud: fingerprints-left 'em everywhere in the house, working maniac!

Sparky: diaphragm-elevates people through his encouragement

Tiana: adrenaline-inspiring, adventurous spirit; Germany, E. Europe, where next?

*Editors Note: And I will add one more, because she was humble enough not to include herself. ;)

Jenae: Immune System-very resiliant spirit, kept the team strong and healthy when under emotional strain.

Ephesians 4: 15-16
We will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

---

I hope everyone is getting a better understanding of how amazing this trip was. In the relationships that were formed, and the lives that were changed.

Also, make sure you pick up the latest copy of the Advocate (Special color edition! Woot!), we made the frontpage and the center spread article!

The Message of Hope and Love

2006-04-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

A short story on Rebecca's experiences with the Katrina Relief project:

The second house to me was an amazing story of how god can use his people. When we first got to the house we worked on there was a lot to be done. The damage from the hurricane was horrific. The doors had to be broken down just to get into the homes to remove all the damaged household items such as couches, chairs, refrigerators, and many other personal items. I was in Reed's group and the one thing the owner asked for us to find was a tin box which was found by Nick as Lauren and I searched the owners bedroom, we were thrilled to find the one and only thing she wanted. In the tin box was all of her insurance information on her home. I prayed real hard that God would help us find this item for my heart was truly broken for the owner at all she had lost. God is really good. One thing I noticed about the owner was how she had many pictures and photo albums of all her family members most of which were completely destroyed however two albums were not destroyed, and were saved for her. Just before we left for the day the owners son came by and talked to all of us what a privilege to meet him. When he told his story of how he escaped out of his home on the day of the hurricane I felt so overwhelmed with emotion tears filled my eyes. He was so thankful to us. He said on the day of the hurricane he was napping when the water started to cover his body he climbed out his window onto his neighbors roof. This seemed so terrifying to me, but I also felt so overjoyed that God would use our group in such an amazing way to touch the lives of this family. The owner told us how he has been personally affected by slavery, and how at times he has had so much anger in his heart, but how God has removed that anger and replaced it with love. He told us that he loves Gods people, and that we are Gods people. He then hugged each and every one of us. This is my story on my experience on how God used me, along with many others, to spread the message of hope and love to a hurting world.

Sincerely
Rebecca Smith

New Orleans Food!

2006-04-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm having a craving for a good ol' Po-Boy, a bowl Gumbo, and Barq's Red Creme (This is quite the delicacy, here in the NW you would have to import it from TotallyNawlins.com). Then finish that off with a few Beignets and Coffee.

Authentic Gumbo w/ Crayfish

Left: Shrimp Po-Boy, Right: Roast Beef Po-Boy

Doesn't get much better then that!

Of course, Rob does make these ribs look good.

We are working on compiling everyone's pictures together, and many of us are working on writing up stories of our experiences. School is getting in the way of that a bit, but definitely more to come soon!

DK

Smile in Their Voices

2006-04-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

This will be the first in a series of accounts of the trip by the individuals who served on the team in beautiful New Orleans.

"I LOVE NOLA"
-Kristal Hoffman

Today I sit and reflect; reflect on a week of my life that took my breath away. This week was a week spent in New Orleans. As the group from Mt Hood community college gathered together to help the people of New Orleans I never thought I would come home changed. The thing is: I had time to see the beauty of broken things. Time to gather my own emotions as we helped families pick up the homes that Hurricane Katrina left scattered and destroyed. I saw the helpless looks in the eyes of the home owners but I also saw the love and the conviction in there smiles. One, never truly knows the impact that they can leave on the heart of man when they serve. Service in the sight of God is service well deserved. As our Heavenly Father loves and cares for His children He knows what is best. As Christ is no longer on this earth we are to be his hands and his feet, we are to serve and to give in his name! It is a beautiful thing really, when reflected back upon. About 32 of us came together to serve and to not be served! Personally I would not have changed that for the world. If asked to talk about an experience that stands out in my mind it would be really hard because the week in and of itself stands out to me. Yet at this time I will reflect back on the 2nd day of being in New Orleans. It was a Sunday. A group of us decided we wanted to go on a little stroll. We started to walk around not exactly knowing where we were going but hoping to end up along the Mississippi River. Soon we saw the destruction deeper and deeper still. We walked down a side street and ran into some individuals who asked us: "who we were, where we were going and what we were doing in New Orleans." What caught my attention was the love, the laughter and the smile in there voices. Yes, I said "smile in there voices." Only because when you heard them talk without even seeing there face you could see there smile. Even through the heart of the destruction they kept there spirits high. It moved me. Allowed me to see that in my own life things will happen that will be unexpected but I can rise above the heartache and move forward with love. I'd be back in New Orleans in a heart beat if I did not have school and jobs to attend to. I learned so much. About myself and about the people I went with and most importantly about the town I went to help. New Orleans is a gorgeous place. Even through the broken things you could see the Beauty. God loves even broken things:

(Song written by: Kenneth Cope)

Broken clouds give rain
Broken soil grows grain
Broken bread feeds man for one more day
Broken storms yield light
Break of day heeds night
Broken pride turns blindness into sight
Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
Could it be that God loves Broken things?

Broken chains set free
Broken swords bring peace
Broken walls make friends of you and me
To Break the ranks of sin
To Break the news of Him
To put on Christ tell His name feels Broken in
Broken souls that need his mending
Broken hearts for offering

I believe that God loves Broken things
And yet our Broken faith
Broken promises
Sent love to the cross
And still that Broken flesh

That Broken heart of His
Offers us such grace and mercy
Covers us with love undeserving

This Broken soul that cried for mending
This Broken heart for offering
I am convinced that God loves even Broken me
Praise his name my God loves Broken things
So Broken clouds give rain
And Broken soil grows grain
And Broken bread feeds man for one more day

This time is a time to think back to the beauty that I truly did see even if the things I saw were broken. I felt the touch of the Masters Hand as I extended my hands in His service. I'll never forget New Orleans and how it changed me. How I know it can change you!

Home (AKA. Light City)

2006-04-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

To help you understand what the situation was like in New Orleans, I will begin by explaining what our own personal living conditions were like.

Before the hurricane, and before Campus Crusade for Christs' renovation to provide living conditions for the 8,500 volunteers over 3 weeks, Light City provided a very important resource to the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

And now for the grand tour of Light City:

I will use this map to help you build a mental picture of the complex and piece together the following pictures.

At the bottom left hand corner is the information/registration desk as well as the main entrance.

At the top left hand corner is one of the male sleeping quarters known as "The Palace". This is also were the males in our group stayed.

"The Cave" is another men's sleeping area.

"Cot Castle" is one of the women's sleeping quarters where the females in our group stayed. ("The Cottage" and "Heartbreak Hotel" are the other 2 female areas)

"The Pigeons Roost" is yet another male sleeping area. Over 1,300 individuals were staying at Light City in the week we were there.

These are the shower tents in the upper right hand corner. Many an hours were spent waiting in line only to sprinkle yourself with either ice cold or scalding hot water.

"Porta-Potty Alley" along the right hand side of the map.

This is the secured parking lot adjacent to the right side of the camp. Also seen are the piles of trash. In New Orleans there is no point to trying to contain all the trash, so it is simply heaped into piles and picked up on a regular basis.

This is the tool room found between "Cot Castle" and "The Pigeons Roost". All tools (shovels, hammers, crow bars, rakes, brooms etc) and air filtration N95 masks were provided to us.

One of the many awesome 24 hour armed security guards keeping us safe.

"The Subway", which had been gutted, was used for group meetings as well as job signups.

Inside "The Subway" was also a complimentary cellphone/camera recharging station. Very convenient.

We are all already having withdrawals from each other on the team, so a couple of the girls took the initiative and planned a get together for tomorrow night. We are meeting at Billy Bobs (used to be The Keg) to watch the NCAA Championship game. Who knows, maybe a spontaneous game of UNO will break out!

Personal stories coming very soon!

In Christ Alone,
DK

Safely Home!

2006-04-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

Relationships were created, people were healed, houses were cleaned, memories were made, stories were written, pictures were taken, Beignets were eaten, and God's mighty power was demonstrated!

God is Amazing!

(Where we learned to call home for the last week, pictures here with one of the mountain of water bottles shipped in almost daily.)

(Why we went to New Orleans)

(Team arriving safely home March 31st at Sea-Tac airport, minus 5 who had separate flights and plus 2 we "adopted" from Linfield University)

We will have up many more pictures and stories from the trip over the next couple weeks, so check in regularly for updates!

God Bless!

DK

Shipping Out!

2006-03-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is it! We are on our way to N'awlins! These last couple of days have been pretty hectic getting everything and everyone together. But we leave from MHCC at 6:00PM tonight. We had a couple last minute barriers, but by God's will and everyone's tremendous support everything has come together.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated for our team over the course of the next week, both for protection and strength in the physical work we will be doing as well as the emotional strains we will endure.

I know this will be an amazing experience for everyone involved and I know we will have a blast. Personally, I can't wait to get a taste of some of these:

(Beignets from Cafe Du Monde)

Check back on Aprils Fools day for the first blog posting on how things went! You can be looking forward to many stories and pictures!

Stage 1: Dreaming - COMPLETE!
Stage 2: Planning - COMPLETE!
Stage 3: Sign-up - COMPLETE!
Stage 4: Fundraising - COMPLETE!
Stage 5: Preparation - COMPLETE!
Stage 6: Realization - IN PROGRESS

God Bless,

2 Days Until Heading North!

2006-03-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

Registrations have been payed, tickets have been bought, Winter term finals have been completed (Thank God!) and liability waivers have been signed! There are only 2 days before we ship up to Lakewood Washington (just south of Tacoma) for the night at Lake City Community Church. We scrambled to get a shuttle or bus of some sort with no luck. As it turns out, carpooling is the better route anyhow. It will give us the flexibility to work around peoples schedules and drive up in a series of waves. The first wave will be meeting at MHCC and shoving off around 6:00PM Friday (24th) night with the last group leaving around 9:00PM.

From Lake City Community Church we will be waking up bright and early (3:30 for the few of us on the early flight, and 4:30 for the rest of the gang) to catch a bus into the Sea-Tac airport. The bus fare will cost us $3.00 per person, mere pocket change compared to the airport's long term parking cost.

I'm looking forward to meeting up with everyone tomorrow at Wall Street Pizza. News and pictures of the majority (hopefully) of the team to come from that tomorrow night.

I'll signoff tonight with a bit of a teaser. I told you we would be staying at "Light City", a spiffy name for a fancied up warehouse, with 1000 people from all over the country. Well, here is a birdseye view of the warehouse we will be sharing with the 968 other individuals next week.

(Click Image to explore the Lower Ninth Ward in its Pre-Katrina state)

God Bless.

DK

Wall Street Pizza

2006-03-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

We will be getting together at Wall Street Pizza, Thursday (23rd) at 6:00PM. Hopefully, everyone who is going on the trip will be able to make it. Its an opportunity for us to just hang out and get to know the people we are going to be spending every living breathing minute with over the next week in New Orleans. It is also important for all team members to be there because we will make sure everyone is up to speed on all the details and ready to go for the trip.

I hope everyone is surviving finals!...I am...barely.

Stage 1: Dreaming - COMPLETE
Stage 2: Planning - COMPLETE
Stage 3: Sign-up - COMPLETE
Stage 4: Fundraising - COMPLETE?
Stage 5: Preparation - IN PROGRESS
Stage 6: Realization -

DK

LSI Logic Donation

2006-03-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

LSI Logic just approved a donation of 400 pairs of Latex gloves and 400 N95 grade face masks. (Over $500 value) Both of which are a necessity for manual labor in New Orleans because of the high level of bacteria, in the form of sitting flood waters and airborne contagion.

DK

"Light City"

2006-03-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

I made a brief mention of what our exciting new living location will be for the week in New Orleans, and I have a few more details. We are partnering with Rev. Leonard Lucus and we are staying in his vacant warehouse, known as "Light City". It is not fancy, but it is big and safe. It has been cleaned up pretty well and will be freshly painted by the time we arrive. There are large men's and women's sleeping rooms. We will sleep on cots and there will be showers and porta-potties. There is a fence around the property and there will be 24-hour security. There is a well-lit fenced in parking area. We are very close to a medical clinic, fire and police station. There will be several "community" rooms and tents for our group to gather for special meetings or simply to hang out in the evening.

The star marks the location of the warehouse.

As these aerial photos show, not only was it hit hard by the two hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) themselves, the lower Ninth Ward had some of the worst flooding.

By placing ourselves right in the middle of this devastation, our opportunity to help those in need will be phenomenal.

10 more days!

DK

Fiddler on the Roof - SUCCESS!

2006-03-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

The Fiddler on the Roof fundraiser was officially a success, and an awesome time for everyone involved. We had about 35 individuals volunteer their time over the course of the weekend, many of whom are not even going on the New Orleans trip but still felt convicted to help out for the cause! Their time was not wasted. We made a profit of $372.75 selling concessions! This money is much needed in light of the bombshell dropped on us yesterday, in the form of an unexpected extra finacial burden. There are now over 1,000 individuals from across the States converging on the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans on March 25th-30th, which means we outgrew our previous camp (we are now staying in a cleared out warehouse) along with the food subsidy that was being provided (which results in an extra $40 per person). So yes, we have another expense added to the list, but now we find ourselves right in the middle of the community that was most devastated by Katrina and Rita. The people are absolutely thrilled that we have come to help. There is a possibility that the community women might even combine forces to cook dinner for us! Hopefully we will be able to experience some New Orleans home cooking! We will see… God has a plan for us!

To everyone who was able to help out with the fundraiser, Rick Zimmer, the director of the production, expressed great appreciation for helping to make the production truly a success, on and off the stage. It was a blast! I still have "Miracle of Miracles" stuck in my head, of course I did see it three nights in a row. We hope we were able to make the overall experience of the muscial a more positive event for everyone who attended, and in return we greatly appreciate the support they provided us!

More updates to come soon! (Finals always get in the way of all the important stuff, no?)

DK

MHCC Special Funds Request

2006-03-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

MHCC just officially approved a $500 Special Funds Request to help out with the Katrina Relief Trip! This will do wonders to ease the finacial burden.

Some of the MHCC Katrina Relief crew, and a few who just wanted to help, got their first taste working together as a team. Tonight was the opening night for our Fiddler on the Roof concession stand fundraiser, and it was more successful then I ever imagined! Complete details on that to come after the weekend showings wrap up.

Shopping spree at Costco! (for the concession stand)

This is only a portion of the crew that showed up Friday evening. Much thanks goes to them for bearing with us and being the test dummies in this crash course learning experience to prepare us for the next two days.

Signup - COMPLETE!

2006-03-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since we originally started planning this trip. Our dream is turning in to a reality. The bulk of the logistics for the trip have been planned. And sign-up is wrapping up. Remember those "jaw-dropping 21 individuals" who were willing to sacrifice their spring break? Well, you can make that 32. We put it in the Lords hands, and we managed to find flights (in most cases, the same flight) for our 11 newest team members who were willing to bear through the frustrations of not having a pre-reserved seat. With the signup phase coming to a close, we are in full swing fundraising mode.

The perfect opportunity has arisen to fund raise for our trip, while also helping to raise awareness on campus for what we are doing. As some of you might know, MHCC is presenting "Fiddler on the Roof" this next weekend (March 10th & 11th at 7:00 and the 12th at 2:00). If you haven't seen the musical or the movie, hopefully all of you well cultured folks have at least seen the Seinfeld episode ("The Limo", for all of you hardcore Seinfeld junkies), where George gets the song "If I were a Rich Man" stuck in his head, and know that it has some good music. We have volunteered as a club to help with ushering, tickets, and whatever else they need. In return, besides getting to see the show for free, we can set up a table during intermission to sell concessions with all profits going toward the trip. Along with concessions, we will be selling coupons for Round Table Pizza who has agreed to team up with us for a fundraiser. Being the closing weekend of the performances, it should be a sold out showing, 500 people, all three nights. Besides raising money for our trip, it will be an excellent opportunity to get to know and start building relationships with the people who are going to be working together for the week in New Orleans.

Something that will be even more helpful then any amount of money we can fundraise, Good Shepherd Community Church started a signup sheet for people to pray for us when we are in New Orleans. We already have 45 individuals who will be praying for us to have Gods guidance that we may have strength, endurance, courage, and patience. So on that note, I will end this posting with a request. A request for your prayers, that things continue to come together as we wrap up loose ends in these last few weeks before we embark on this physical and emotional journey.

God Bless

DK

Stage 1: Dreaming - COMPLETE
Stage 2: Planning - COMPLETE
Stage 3: Sign-up - COMPLETE
Stage 4: Fundraising - IN PROGRESS
Stage 5: Preparation -
Stage 6: Realization -

Katrina Relief: MHCC's Chapter

2006-02-22T20:17:00.000-08:00

At 7:00 AM. CDT on August 29^th 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit land as a category 4 hurricane with the levee in New Orleans breaking mere hours later. From this point on everyone knows the disaster that ensued. Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75 billion in damages, making it the costliest hurricane in United States history; the storm has killed 1,418 people, becoming the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. In much the same vigor and enthusiasm, the citizens of this great country followed up with unprecedented support, matched only in recent times in the wake of 9/11. Both on the private and commercial level, millions upon millions were donated to help with the relief effort.

Months have passed, and for the most part Katrina has dropped out of the media, excluding the media spun political fiasco. However, there is still a need. Some would say even greater a need now, with thousands of residents of that region feeling abandoned and desolate. And it is here, that Mt Hood Community Colleges chapter in this heart wrenching story begins. Inspired by the personal stories of individuals who have experienced the post-Katrina New Orleans first hand a dream developed, and through this dream, a way appeared to make this dream a reality.

Campus Crusade for Christ, teaming with FEMA and Habitat For Humanity, created a platform to allow thousands of university students to converge upon the Gulf Coast not to party, but to serve people in need. They gave the opportunity for students from fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, religious groups, churches, and other student clubs to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana to help with the ongoing Katrina relief effort. The total cost of the camp including shelter and food, excluding airfare, only $30, just going to show how much of a need there is not for money, but for hands to do the work.

But our chapter in this story is just beginning. The brunt of the planning has been completed. Our prayers have been answered beyond belief with a truly amazing response on campus. 45 well-intentioned individuals showed up to our informational meeting on February 15th. By the end of the meeting 35 expressed extreme interest, with a jaw-dropping 21 individuals willing to sacrifice their spring break by following through and committing, with very short notice due to airline reservation time contraints, to this adventure. We managed to secure a group rate for fairly cheap tickets of only $400. But cheap is relative, especially in the context of college students. Many thanks goes out to all the individuals backing these students. I could tell many heart-warming stories of the financial support people have provided to make the trip affordable for us, but that's for another time.

We will be shipping out March 25th bright and early. Check in regularly for updates, as well as for pictures and first hand stories from Post-Katrina New Orleans following the trip. God Bless.

Through Christ Alone,

David Knepprath

P.S. Much thanks to the Corban College Katrina Relief team for the inspiration, as well as the heart wrenching pictures.

Up and Running

2006-02-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all. This is our brand new blog for Campus Crusade for Christ at Mount Hood Community College. Enjoy. More info to come.